April 1, 2002
A LITTLE LOST LAMB

I was driving down a residential street this afternoon when I saw a beautiful little boy, about two years old, happily rolling a basketball and running after it. The only problem was, he was doing all this in the middle of the road!

I stopped the car and looked all around—not a soul in sight. Another car came by; the driver, fortunately, spotted the boy. As he cautiously drove by, I realized somebody had to do something. As the only adult person in the vicinity, I was elected.

I spoke to the little boy. He smiled, pointed, and said "Ball." I asked where he lived. He smiled, pointed, and said "Ball." He was not going to be helpful.

I took him by the hand, picked up his ball and led him in the direction he seemed to be coming from. When we encountered a high curb, I picked him up and carried him from then on.

I scanned the neighborhood. One house had a few toys on the porch, and the front door seemed ajar, so I headed there.

When I got to the door, I heard a teenage girl on the phone arguing loudly with her friend. I had to yell to get her attention. When she came, I said, "Does he belong here?" She looked puzzled and took him. I told her where I'd found him, and she said: "Oh, my brother left the door open. Thanks." As she went back into the house, her older brother yelled at her, and she yelled back.

I came to the church and discussed it with Alice. It was probably a simple mistake by a big sister who was usually a good caregiver. And yet, the casualness of her response bothered me. I decided to report the incident to the police. A visit from a couple of officers in uniform might at least make her realize the importance of her childcare responsibility.

After I made the call, my cynical self rose to the surface. First I thought: "Oh good, George. She's going to tell the police that you were trying to kidnap her little brother, and she rescued him from you. You'll be one more example of the child-molesting clergy, front page in the Star-News." I quickly shook that off as unlikely; she'd have to be pretty clever to put that story together.

My second thought was more serious. I was "saving" this beautiful, innocent little two-year-old. For what? So he could grow up to be like his big sister and brother? He's not going to stay cute and cuddly. He's going to develop the scars and callouses that have made his siblings into self-centered teenagers. In a few years he might even turn up in juvenile court.

Here's what the Lord brought to my mind at that very moment. Jesus said:
"Which of you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'"
(Luke 15:3-6)

This one little lost sheep was not going to remain a fluffy, lovable lamb forever. Someday he'd become an adult sheep, his coarse wool soiled by life and his days spent self-indulgently chewing grass as part of a herd of look-alikes. And yet the shepherd loved him, could not stand the thought of him wandering defenselessly in the cruel world, was compelled to put all his energy into rescuing him.

Just as the shepherd loved the little lamb in his lost sheep, Jesus loves the little child in each of us. He makes a maximum effort to bring his lost lambs home. To you, I may look like a walking pile of mutton, but Jesus chooses to see me as cute and cuddly.

I know you're waiting for the end of my story. Well, a Pasadena Police officer called me. He stopped at the house, checked all the family members, made sure there was plenty of food, a healthy environment and no signs of abuse. He told the siblings and their father (who was upstairs sleeping) to be more careful and informed them that he was required to report the incident to the Department of Children's Services. He thanked me for being a good citizen.

That's that. Probably the family will be more attentive to the child's care from now on. And maybe, someday, by God's grace, the boy will realize that there is a Good Shepherd who loves him intensely and wants to carry him to eternal safety.

–Pastor George Van Alstine